Risby, Suffolk
Introduction Risby is a village in Suffolk, located over three miles west of Bury St. Edmunds, north of the A14 road. It is believed that the village was founded in about the tenth century, presumably on the strength of its having a Norse name, possibly Rȳðs - by "farm settlement at a clearing" and identical to Ryssby in Sweden.Ekwall, Eilert, The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Place-Names Oxford 1980, etc. The traditional division or Hundred in which it stands is Thingoe,from Old Scandinavian þinghaugr, assembly mound, Ekwall, as above also a Norse name. The village now has a population of 840. Risby was recorded in Domesday as Rasbi and Risbi and Resebi. Nearby the Black Ditches are believed to be the most easterly of a series of early Anglo-Saxon defensive earthworks built across the Icknield Way. Risby Poor's Heath and Cavenham Heath are two of the last areas of totally unspoilt breckland heath. Saxham & Risby Station, a mile south of the village, (originally just "Saxham") opened in 1854 and closed in December 1964, though passenger traffic ceased in 1967. Present day South St and Flempton Road are the roads through Risby from south (A14) to the north. A Little Green lies off the top end of South St. Welham Lane and Lackford Lane head off west and School Road and Hall Lane head off east. Risby Church of England Voluntary Controlled School, Aylmer Close off School Road. The village Hall is close to the school. Two pubs, Crown & Castle (south of the village) and White Horse, an 18th century pub. Old Barns now auctioneers are just a little north from the Crown and Castle. Risby Little Woods are to the north and Quay's Farm to the southeast. St Giles Church lies opposite Quay's Farm behind a wall of flints and pink bricks and consists of nave, chancel and porch with traceried windows and one of the East Anglian round towers, in flint,notes made at the church, August 2003 containing three bells. The tower is plain up to above roof level, where a number of lancets appear below a shallow battlemented parapet. This tower has a texture of varicoloured flints, black, white, brown, glassy, dull, orange, not usually chipped or knapped, set in a buff-coloured mortar, and it rises with a slight taper from ground level and without obvious signs of coursing, as if built in one campaign. It is similar to the round tower at neighbouring Little Saxham. Inside the church, the tower arch seems rather tall for its width, and has roll mouldings about the arch and capitals marked with simple lozenge designs, as if Anglo-Saxon, but it may be from the Norman period in a style archaic for its time. The church guide suggests a date about 1000 to 1066. The space inside the round tower is surprisingly small, suggesting very thick walls.notes made at trhe church August 2003 The interior of the church contains tablets to the Danby, Wastell, and Spark families; also a carved screen. On the nave floor, partly under a carpet, could be noted some arms of the Godfrey family in exactly the same style and material as those also noted for Godfrey at Lydd, Kent. The arms: A chevron between three pelicans' heads erased at the neck vulning themselves. '' The colour of the field is given as ''Sable, the chevron as Or''Corder, Joan, ''A Dictionary of Suffolk Arms Suffolk Records Society 1965 Notable People associated with Risby *Richard Spring, Baron Risby *Thomas Wale References External links *Parish Site *Risby *St Giles church *St Giles Pictures *Suffolk CAMRA Crown and Castle *Suffolk CAMRA White Horse *Barns *Risby School *Eastern Region Cycling Category:Villages in Suffolk Category:Established in 979